


Hopeful Magic

by mamamittens



Series: Magic in the Soul [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Sequel, Therapy, family feels all around, possible violence and racism, schooling but not Hogwarts yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-03 13:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6613195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamamittens/pseuds/mamamittens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Determined Magic!</p><p>Harry now has the family he always wanted, if not as he expected them to be. Now he has to look forward to school, new friends, possible racism, and low-key trying to finish his side of the bargain with Death Sans. Meanwhile, how will the populace handle the existence of monsters? Will Sans and co get revenge on the Durlseys and Tom Riddle? Will Flowey just insult everyone? Probably to the last two, and questionably to the first! But find out all about it in Hopeful Magic!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome Home

            Harry looked in awe at the gated community that the monsters will be housed in until the rocky relationship between humans and monsters settled down. It was large and sprawling with the location hidden by magic from people with bad intentions. The last week had been exhausting, and Harry couldn’t wait until they finally moved into their new house.

            About three days after the barrier broke, Asriel experienced an odd growth. On the top of his head a sprig of green popped up. A day later it grew until it bloomed into a familiar flower with a bad attitude. Thankfully, they were able to detach Flowey from Asriel. Alphys assumed it was because Flowey had existed as his own entity for so long that merging the two personalities was considered detrimental by Asriel’s magic. So it spat out Flowey and he is now kept in a flower pot that Asriel carried around. For whatever reason, Flowey was only slightly less sour to Asriel, Harry, Frisk, and Chara. Everyone else received his hate to a level almost insulting. But monsters were strange, and accepted the sour bud as he was. Grouchy. Much to Flowey’s consternation. Sans could intimidate Flowey if he tried, but usually settled for annoying him with flower puns. Flowey was also oddly respectful to mum.

            The car drove past the houses of various sizes until they came to a big two story house. 7 Fox Avenue. House number 1. The design was sort of bland but they could paint and decorate however they wanted. Toriel looked into the back seat and smiled.

            “Here we are.” Asgore had his own house, the two agreeing to share their kids between houses. Frisk was practically bouncing in their seat, Chara clutching Frisk and Asriel’s hand nervously. It would probably take a while for Chara to realize that they were accepted to matter what form they had, which Harry had a small struggle with himself as well. Harry just hoped that being the baby of the family wouldn’t be too difficult.

            “I hope our neighbors are cute!” Frisk whispered in excitement. Harry snorted a little. After some confusion, the AMC altered Frisk’s documents to that they were legally listed as fifteen. Altering their birth year and hiding away any filed about their previous life. Harry’s situation was a little more difficult. Harry’s legal guardians were now Asgore and Toriel, paperwork pushed through so that he could stay in America and eventually help bridge the gap between non magical people and magic people. He would likely have to go to Hogwarts though. But that was years from now. In the meantime, he would receive his education at the new school his mum founded and receive counseling to ensure he was adjusting properly to his environment and handling his past abuse. Harry shook his head of unpleasant thoughts as the car door opened and they wondered into their new home.

            It was modern and clean. Wooden flooring and clean beige walls. They would pant them a better color later, but for now, it was a start. It even came furnished. Nothing too special, just the basics. Everything a house needed. Fully stocked kitchen, furnished living-room and bedrooms, and a complete laundry room. It was discovered by Alphys that monster magic was more compatible with technology than human magic. So she worked hard to alter their electronics so that Harry wouldn’t accidentally destroy them. Working with the AMC’s team of scientists, she was close to an answer. But until then, Harry was to also work with his counselor to control his accidental magic outbursts.

            “Harry?” Harry jolted out of his thoughts and looked up at his mum.

            “Wouldn’t you like to see your new bedroom?” Harry nodded and followed his mum up the stairs. Chara and Asriel insisted on sharing a room together, despite there being no real need with six bedrooms, and it was agreed that Frisk and Harry would get their own rooms. Harry’s room was in-between Chara/Asriel’s room and Frisks. Mum’s room in front of the stairs with an open invination to come in if they had need, just to knock first. Harry opened the door and looked in wonder.

            It was simple. The walls a pale gray and the flooring covered in dark red carpeting. The bed was a twin size with robin’s egg blue blankets and a dark chestnut wooden frame. The dresser and bedside table a perfect match. He took in the large space, the door to the closet that was a sliding door, and the heavy wooden desk in the corner for schoolwork. It was simple at the moment, not yet filled with personal touches and warmth, but it was a wonderful start. Harry reached up and grasped his mum’s paw, relishing in the soft comfort she silently provided. A wonderful start indeed.


	2. Of News and Nightmares

            The first night in their new home was largely uneventful. Besides a few boxes of personal belongings, they didn’t have much that couldn’t be replaced. Harry had the least, naturally, and mum promised they would go clothes shopping soon. It was a worn pair of flannel pajamas that Harry slipped into before going to bed, mum tucking him in and giving him a goodnight kiss before turning out the light. Despite the warm feeling that filled his Soul, Harry should have known sleep wouldn’t be that easy.

\--Because I totally forgot Gaster, here’s some skeleton family stuff!—

            Sans was quite surprised that the humans accepted Gaster’s history so easily. He had a feeling that they were looking into the precise effects of the barrier in secret, but couldn’t bring himself to care. He was happy about how easily Tori got custody of the kids though. He was worried that Harry would have to be shipped off to his… _relatives_. But apparently they were serious when they said that child abuse was not to be tolerated. The fact that his non-magical relatives _willingly_ gave Harry up at a magical site apparently fulfilled some weird magic by-laws they had since Harry himself was a magician. Unfortunately, they also didn’t advocate revenge plots. The human that asked Sans about Harry was pretty sharp in making sure that he never got anything about the ‘Dursleys’ beyond last name.

            At least the kid was going to see a counselor now. Man, wasn’t Tori so excited to hear she could teach at the monster school? She couldn’t teach human kids without proper certification, but anything concerning monsters or magic was free game.

            The new house they got to live in was pretty nice. Gaster was going to live with them for the time being, probably to bond and make up for all that lost time. Sans wasn’t going to lie to himself, at least, not in the privacy of his own head. He was a little bitter about having to practically raise Papyrus all by himself. Some small, childish part of him that refused to accept that the entire situation was out of Gaster’s control. That at least he was here now, willing to try, rather than off into the wide wonder doing his own thing.

            For the past week, they had been going through question after question, mostly as preparation for when they officially ‘came out’. It went about as well as could be expected. Disbelief at first, then scorching questions, and now it settled into a low simmer of uncertainty. Some circles took it really well, easily jumping on board, and some would probably need a bit of time. Time to consult their books and religion and what-not. The polls looked good, at least. 56% approval, 33% neutral, and only 11% kill it with fire. It might be because of the combined efforts of Mettaton, Frisk, Toriel, Asgore, Alphys, and Harry surprisingly. Not everyone was supportive of Toriel having custody of Harry and Frisk, but after hearing their story of why they climbed the mountain, most just accepted it as a better alternative. And boy, was everyone pissed when they realized that Frisk and Harry had almost identical stories to tell.

            It was a little weird though, how easily most accepted the existence of monsters. When pressed, most said that they had heard of old wives tales about monsters being trapped underground. The rest of the world seemed content to wait and see how it went. Europe especially. But quiet invitations to come and have a conference have been sent from various countries. Canada, France, Belgium, and Japan among other places were particularly happy to have guest speakers at public functions.

            “SANS! LOOK! MY BED LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE BACK IN SNOWDIN! PERHAPS YOU COULD READ FLUFFY BUNNY FOR OLD TIMES SAKE?” Papyrus called down from upstairs. Gaster peaked awkwardly from inside the kitchen, a conflicted look on his face.

            “don’t worry ‘bout it, dadster. paps is thrilled you’re here, he just really likes the voices I do for fluffy bunny and company. maybe he’ll ask tomorrow night?” Gaster’s face eased into a small smile.

            “Perhaps so…” his voice was soft and accepting, despite his eyes speaking of anxiety. Sans gave Gaster a reassuring smile and headed upstairs. Idly, he wondered how the kids were adjusting.

\--I feel like so much freaking exposition is here, but I _need it_. Ugh.—

            Harsh voices and cold glares haunted Harry’s dreams. So much so, that when he was startled awake he could still hear them, as though he was back in the cupboard and Uncle Vernon was outside the door. His body was frozen in cold fear and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. Slowly, the moment passed, and Harry realized that he was not in England. That he was lying in a proper bed. But the room made him anxious anyway. He felt like he was in a space too big and too small all at once, his mind warring with the desire to be in a small, difficult to reach place, and yearning for room to run. A small breeze from the air conditioner brushed over his face, alerting him to the existence of tear tracks on his cheeks, still damp from his dream. His door creaked open softly.

            “You babies are ridiculous! Like anything could get past security! Or me for that matter!” Flowey whispered harshly as Asriel, Chara, and Frisk peaked in.

            “You’re the one who told us to bring you along, Flowey.” Chara pointed out before turning towards Harry. At least, that’s what Harry thought Chara was doing, since he had yet to put on his glasses.

            “Harry, we’re going to sleep with mom, wanna come with?” Frisk asked as they puttered over to Harry’s bedside, casually wiping his cheeks with a soft sleeve.

            “Y-Yeah…” Harry pushed aside the blankets and got out of bed before remaking the bed with practiced movements.

            “Oh my god, Harry if you don’t move it, I will—“ Chara whispered something harshly to Flowey, “ _Ugh_ , fine. Whatever. _Take your time, deary~!_ ” Flowey said in that tone of voice he used when forced to be nice. Like he’d rather be turning you into fertilizer than be polite. Harry blindly grasped for Frisk’s hand and followed the awkward train of sleepy children to their mum’s door. A soft knock echoed in the quiet house. They heard shuffling and the door opened, the large figure of their mum looking out at them. Harry leaned against Frisk, hiding his face as his shoulders tensed, as though expecting sharp words or violence.

            “Oh! My children, I didn’t expect you to be awake still…”

            “The brats couldn’t sleep.” Flowey said tersely, refusing to elaborate for whatever reason.

            “Well, come in, there’s plenty of room. Flowey, would you like to sit on the bedside table or next to the window?” Mum said as she opened the door to let them through.

            “Ugh, the window. I don’t need to be any closer to this cheese fest than that.” Flowey lowered his voice, “Besides, someone has to keep an eye out. I don’t trust those beady-eyed humans with sh—“ Flowey cut himself off and looked at mum. “Fertilizer. They clearly can’t be trusted with _decomposing_ _matter_.” Flowey sneered, as though anyone was fooled. Asriel sat his pot on the window sill and crawled into bed with Chara.

            Frisk moved to the bed, gently leading Harry under the covers next to mum with Asriel and Chara on the other side.

            “Goodnight, my children.” Mum said with a heavy yawn, her arms drawing them closer to her warmth.

            “Night mum.”

            “Goodnight, mom.”

            “N—ah—Night momma.”

            “Night goat mom.”

            “…Frisk, did you just call mum, goat mom?”

            “What?”

            “Oh my god, will you just shut up and go to sleep!?”

            “…night Flowey.” Harry whispered into the silence.

            “Yeah, yeah. Good night, sleep tight and all that crap. Don’t let the bed bugs bite or whatever. Do. What do I care?” Flowey asked rhetorically and in a slightly high pitched voice.

\--And now for various reactions of mostly reasonable people.—

“This is literally the coolest thing to happen since Monsters Inc., why would I be mad? They literally just want to see the sun and live on the surface. Who am I to stop them?”

“Wait, so… like, was that movie real? Did they switch to laughter energy or are they still focused on screams? I’m a little concerned for my little cousin and I need to know.”

“THE END IS HERE! DEMONS HAVE COME FORTH—“

“HOLY SHIT, CALM YOURSELF! You literally said the same thing last week when they canceled the McRib, Jesus.”

“I mean, I’m not necessarily happy that they’re here, but jeez, after god knows how long underground, I think they’ve earned it. Not that anyone should _have_ to earn that, but whatever.”

“Did you see the royal family? They’re literally furries. I mean, it’s weird when I say that, but honestly!... and I may or may not have a crush because of how freaking cute they are. Like, is that even legal?! To be that cute?!”

“No comment.”

“My great-grandfather didn’t fight in WWII just so we could replace the Nazis! I say let them live here!”

"Like, some people are talking about how they should be considered animals, and I always just look at them and say ' _are you sure you want PETA to have that kind of material?!_ '"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this, cause I had some fun writing the last part there. And I apologize to Gaster for forgetting to write him in the last chapter and at the end of Determined Magic. If you guys have any questions or requests, i'll see what I can do! I mean, the plot for this is a little empty for me. I mean, I don't have anything solid on what will happen, just them adjusting and people slowly accepting their presence for now. Who knows, I might have a PTA Sans appear if I can get human integration down in the near future.


	3. Move On Already!

            Deep within the void, Death stood, carefully considering how to approach this.

            “Okay, I’ve got to say it. This is the most troublesome group of Souls I’ve ever reaped.” He said with a frown as he looked at the six human Souls from one particular universe’s underground. Because it had been so long, some of them had forgotten their own names.

            Abel, the orange Soul, had the misfortune to be born both a Jew and in Germany during the Nazi regime. It was a lucky break that he managed to fall into a wormhole into the underground before being captured. His long held dream of being a boxer would never be realized, mostly because, within a week of getting into Snowdin, he fell sick and died.

            Alexandra, the dark blue Soul, was the daughter of a Russian ballerina in the Ballet Russes before it fell in 1929. She wished to follow her mother’s footsteps but never had the chance when she fell into the underground. She willingly gave up her Soul after seeing the wishing room and hearing the plight of the monsters.

            The yellow Soul, who had forgotten his own name quite some time ago, was a sheriff in the wild-west. He managed to fall through a wormhole just before his town was struck by a mysterious disease, leaving it a ghost town within the course of a month. He managed to make it all the way through to the MTT Hotel, where he panicked, shot at what he thought was an enemy, and committed suicide with the last bullet.

            The light blue Soul, Enya, was from a European circus. She was just a child with a frail heart condition that meant she would never be able to perform. She didn’t make it past the Ruins with her fragile heart, she waited and waited until she couldn’t handle the terror of an unfamiliar place, and then she died.

            Jonathan, the purple Soul, was a reporter who couldn’t keep his nose out of anyone’s business. He was a crooked reporter, often lied to get a good story, and his venomous words got the end of him. Retired veterans don’t take kindly to insults of their kind royalty.

            The green Soul was an old man, who had long since developed dementia. But if asked, he could make surprisingly good dishes with his skillet that he carried around. He made it all the way to the Hotlands before he forgot to take care of himself and died of a heat stroke.

            All six of them seemed to be under the impression that they needed to do something for the land of the living. Some sort of last hu-rah or whatever. Death was not amused.

            “Seriously, it’s time to _move on_.” Death said resolutely as he raised his scythe and _pushed_ them through. He shook his head as he walked away. “So much trouble, I don’t understand it. I mean, they were just _dying_ to get here…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I feel bad at how short this is, but I think I need to take a break. Step back, and figure out what I want to freaking do. Seriously. This is two different and kind of important things that I needed to write, and I forgot them! The Souls and Gaster, and I completely forgot about them. I was so /ready/ to just move on to these other really cool ideas in my head, that I just totally rushed it. And that is not fair to anyone. So, this story will be put on hold for the moment. I may come back and write some more fluff, but I need to figure out some freaking plot here, even if it's short. As for the questions you guys have asked, concerning the reactions for the wizarding world and shit, I can answer that right now. 
> 
> It was on purpose, me not listing Britain in the list of countries sending an invitation. The higher authority that green lighted the Boiled Frog plan was not the Minister of Magic. It was the Queen. She knows that her magical subjects are very... old fashioned, and most likely to fuck up and get themselves killed, so this was the best she could do. Most everywhere else is actually pretty in touch with muggle developments, though probably not as much as America (I like to think it was a bit of a spite thing after the revolution and shit). America, among other things, has some technology implemented with their magic, but not a lot due to how chaotic the two interact. Magical Britain is basically sneering at America for letting magic become public in any form, waiting for it to blow up, and being generally disinterested. Most wizards don't even know it happened, they're so out of touch with the muggle world. And the mostly positive reactions were from the rather... oppressed groups. Feminists. Veteran families. Intellectuals. The LGBT(all those other letter initials that no one can remember in one go, jesus it's really freaking long, but all those people are pretty cool about it for the most part). This is because of the very subliminal affect that the barrier had. Remember the part where ACM couldn't figure out why that strange magic hide the identity of Mt. Ebbott but was oddly contagious? It worked on a very low level to make people dismiss the legends, even if they never heard about them. This stretched over the entire continent, so most people are reacting as though, on some level, this is old news. "Monsters? So what?" kind of thinking, even if they just heard about it. The only people that wouldn't be as relaxed are the very... opinionated, and the incredibly scared (which is reduced because so many people are relaxed about it). That's why the "polls" were so positive, even as a sample. The only way this effect would be destroyed would be if monsters went on a killing spree through orphanages, bathing in the blood of the innocent, or something. Which won't happen.
> 
> Anyway, so sorry about having to put this on hold for a while, but I will probably pick up some new story and run with it. I was thinking a magic or monster OC/reader story. By OC/reader, I mean like We Are All Falling, where Tumble wasn't a particular gender, but had an identity and all that jazz. Maybe i'll even try to do a romance (which my room mate/occasional beta doesn't think I should do. Something about being innocent, but I might be convinced to do smut.) Who knows?
> 
> So, see you guys soon, with any luck. And thanks for the support and your patience.


	4. Mr. Dumbledore and Sirius Black

            The stage was set. Dumbledore had done everything he could to ensure that Sirius Black received a trial. Minister Fudge almost tripped over himself to do the ‘largely ceremonial’ trial for the ‘Boy-Who-Lived’. Now all Dumbledore had to do was _find_ Harry Potter. He had been traveling through the American cities when he spotted it. A newspaper with Harry’s unmistakable features on it. Alongside him was a taller child in a striped shirt, as well as two nearly identical white goat-like creatures in striped shirts. Just behind the odd group was an equally strange group of magical creatures. But he was in the muggle areas! What the blazes were the American wizards thinking? He needed to resolve this quickly.

\--With the AMC.—

            Secretary of Defense, Vincent Riven was one of the many that didn’t necessarily have a high opinion of Albus Dumbledore. He respected the English wizards’ accomplishments, but the man was getting old and had far too many positions to be more than somewhat adequate at each. It didn’t help that despite Dumbledore’s supposedly progressive stance, the British wizarding world was far behind their counterparts. He also didn’t appreciate what Dumbledore was implying.

            “…How could you let the situation get so out of hand, Mr. Riven? Magical creatures on the front page of the muggle newspapers? It’s outrageous! The secrecy of the magical world is in serious danger!” Dumbledore said patronizingly. Vincent did _not_ appreciate the old man coming in here and assuming that he didn’t know what he was doing.

            “ _If you are quite finished_ , Albus Dumbledore, I will enlighten you as to the situation. What you saw was not a gathering of magical creatures, but an entirely different race that had been trapped underground for far too long! Every nation has agreed to our plan, which involves controlled introductions to a friendly race, such as the Monsters, and slowly acclimating them to the idea that the average _non-magical person_ isn’t all that occupies this world. In fact, it is going splendidly. _But_ , I imagine that isn’t all that you came here for.” Vincent said, determined to beat Dumbledore to the punch, “On the matter of Harry Potter, who you no-doubt originally came to the United States for, I have only this to say. He is staying right where he is.” Dumbledore almost stumbled back at the amount of venom in Vincent’s voice.

            “But Harry Potter is a British citizen! You cannot keep him here with the _Monsters_!” Dumbledore said. Vincent shook his head.

            “Actually, I _can_. His _relatives_ abandoned him at a highly magical site and abused him for years. The Monster family he resides with has shown to be protective, caring, and more than able to care for Mr. Potter. I will not allow you to come here, take an American citizen, and drop him off with those abusive relatives again!” Dumbledore shook his head.

            “I had no intention of releasing Harry into the care of his aunt again! I have reason to suspect that his godfather is innocent, so when he is cleared, Harry would go to him. But Harry Potter _must_ live in England!” Dumbledore insisted. Vincent laughed.

            “Oh, I wonder why? It can’t possibly be because of the odd dependence on a ‘hero’ figure? Or even the fact that, if Harry Potter lives in the British Isles, Hogwarts has first claim on him? But if he lives elsewhere, like _America_ , then he can _chose_. And why would he chose a school that would look down on his adoptive family?” Vincent ranted, well aware that other schools can’t even send an invite unless asked or if Hogwarts rejects the student. And Dumbledore can’t have the ‘Boy-Who-Lived’ going to somewhere _besides_ Hogwarts, now can he? Britain might not be able to handle the blow to their inflated ego. Dumbledore sputtered for something, anything to use.

            “He needs to know of his heritage! He can’t do that if he goes to a different school!” Dumbledore finally said. Vincent snorted.

            “Oh, his heritage? You mean the one his _relatives_ told him of? How his mother and father were unemployed drunks that died in a car accident? Or his heritage that he could simply read about from the family books that are, no doubt, stored inside of Gringotts? And _Sirius Black_? Do you really think that, even if Sirius Black is innocent, it would be a good idea to give a recently released convict from _Azkaban_ , custody over a child? One that, if the reports are right, looks exactly like his father with his mother’s eyes? The man is likely to be highly unstable, if nothing else, and needs therapy! Not a child!” Vincent said, hoping that this conversation would be over soon. Dumbledore can’t do anything. Harry has already been adopted and his citizenship legalized. A dual-citizenship, of course, but it would protect him from any laws that ‘happen’ to give Britain the right to take him back. There were bigger issues at play than the wants of the backwards society of British wizards. Namely, Harry Potter’s own health and happiness, not to mention the operation they had going with Harry and Frisk at the forefront. And he’d be damned if some old coot ruined the boy’s childhood any more than it already was.

\--Back to Harry!—

            Going back to school after everything he’d been through was… weird. It was much better, of course, due to the fact that he would be in a different school than his cousin Dudley, and therefore actually have a chance to make friends. He was enrolled in the fourth grade, which was rather different from the British schooling system where he would be in his fifth year. It was rather disappointing that he wouldn’t be in any of Frisk’s, Asriel’s, or Chara’s classes though, since they were all in the seventh grade. But they promised that he could sit with them at lunch and, if possible, play with them on the playground!

            Mum seemed a little upset to see them go, her certification to teach taking a little longer than they would like, meaning she’d be able to teach in the spring at the earliest. But she was happy to see them so excited to go to school. Despite the overwhelming majority of students being monsters, Flowey insisted on discreetly keeping an eye on the, while at school. So, naturally, for the entire day, Harry and his siblings could all spot Flowey ‘discreetly’ sitting under a tree, sneering into the windows of their classrooms. Which was impressive considering their classes were on opposite ends of the building.

            His counselor, who he had to meet for an hour after lunch, was a nice lady named Mrs. Claire. She wore loose dresses and cardigans in pastel prints. For the most part, she wanted them to get closer before diving into his past… abuse. She also didn’t seem to disapprove of his family, so Harry honestly didn’t mind her at all.

            For a week, they went to school, ate lunch and played together, went back to class, and then went home. Harry was still rather… shy, his peers a little awed because of his part in breaking the barrier, but he really enjoyed his life so far. He finally had a family, a home where he was welcome and safe, and in time, he’d even get to have friends. What more could he want? That was when Mr. Riven, Secretary of Defense for the AMC, came over with two other men, one really old and the other looking haggard. Mr. Riven looked displeased to have brought them, but mum welcomed them inside, nonetheless.

            “How may I help you, Mr. Riven?” Mum asked as she lead them into the living room. Asriel, Chara, and Frisk were over at Papyrus’ place making spaghetti with Sans and Mr. Gaster watching over them. Flowey insisted on keeping watch here and was trying to glare a hole through the newcomers. Mr. Riven sat down, as did the haggard looking man, but the old man moved towards Harry.

            “Mr. Dumbledore, if you move one more step towards Mrs. Dreemurr’s ward without permission, I _will_ obliviate no less than five decades from you!” Mr. Riven snapped, Mr. Dumbledore reluctantly sitting down.

            “My apologies. I have not seen Harry since he was a baby.” He said wistfully, sounding as old as he looked. Which was very old, with his long white beard and odd looking robes. Mr. Riven glared at him while the haggard looking man just looked lost.

            “Well, you would have seen him much sooner if you had kept an eye on him. _Like you were supposed to_.” Mr. Riven snapped before turning apologetically towards mum, “I’m sorry about that, Mrs. Dreemurr. I’m here on mostly official business, I’m afraid. Good news is that your certification has gone through. You may start teaching in the fall. These two… _gentleman_ with me is Albus Dumbeldore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Beside him is Sirius Orion Black, recently released from the wizarding prison Azkaban, where he was wrongfully imprisoned without a trial. Sirius Black also happens to be Harry Potter’s godfather.” Mr. Riven said, his tone much more gentle when he introduced Sirius Black. Mum looked rather worried, so Harry sat down next to her and held her paw with Flowey in his lap. His mum smiled down at him before directing her attention back to the visitors.

            “Well, that is quite impressive, but what business do you three have here, together no less?” She asked. Mr. Dumbledore started to answer but Mr. Riven beat him to it.

            “Mostly, they are here to introduce you to Mr. Sirius, who is incapable of taking in Mr. Potter until he, at the very least, completes therapy. _Mr. Dumbledore_ , is here to represent his school and curry favor in the hope that you allow Mr. Potter to go to his school. I’d like to add that, since Mr. Potter had dual-citizenship, the choice in entirely up to his guardian. _Regardless_ of what Mr. Dumbledore says.” Harry looked at his ‘godfather’. The man was pale and his hair dark and wild, like he hadn’t had a shave in years. His eyes were also dark and seemed to be shadowed. Clearly, despite the nice clothes, Mr. Black was nowhere near full health. Mr. Dumbledore looked like he had swallowed something sour. His mum straightened her posture and leveled a firm look at Mr. Dumbledore.

            “As of yet, we are still adjusting to life aboveground. I will not make any decisions on Harry’s education without ensuring it is what’s best _for him_. That includes looking into your school and the country. I will not send my son off to be gawked at for _living_.” She said firmly, “As for his godfather, I assume that Mr. Black was incarcerated before he could take custody. As such, he is not to blame for Harry’s… _prior living situation_. As soon as he is in full health, he is welcome to come again and build a relationship with Harry. As long as Harry is open to it, of course.” She turned towards Harry questioningly.

            “Well… I think I’d like that. I’m not sure about Hogwarts though, if I don’t actually _have_ to go. Mr. Riven told me that America has a school of their own that I could go to instead, but that’s a ways off.” Harry said, dismissing it entirely. Mr. Dumbledore looked ready to spring forward and defend his school, which he promptly did.

            “Don’t you want to go to the same school as your parents, Harry?” he asked. A small part of Harry, the part that had been heart-broken from the hatred of his relatives, cried out at such a statement. But his mum beat him to any reaction.

            “ _Mr. Dumbledore_! If you try to manipulate Harry like that again, I will gleefully chase you out of my house, permanently! And Hogwarts would be completely out of the question for as long as you are present there, do you understand?” She said sharply before turning towards Harry again.

            “Harry, my child, why don’t you get dressed and walk over to Sans’ house? Clearly, Mr. Dumbledore cannot behave himself, and I’m afraid your presence is tearing apart Mr. Black. Clearly, he holds no small amount of sorrow over your parents. Be sure to take Flowey with you, my child.” Mum said. Part of Harry flinched at that, his eyes looking over to Mr. Black. But then he finally noticed the look he was giving him. Mr. Black looked like he was seeing someone else entirely, his eyes clouded with pain. Yes, Mr. Black had a long way to go before he was healthy again. Harry stood up from the couch and walked over to Mr. Black, gently patting his knee.

            “Its okay, Mr. Black. I’m getting help too, and soon you’ll feel loads better. Maybe you’ll even get to visit often. Mum makes a great cinnamon-butterscotch pie.” Harry then started to walk away from the almost comatose man, but he quickly grabbed his hand, eyes filled with tears.

            “I-I’m so sorry, Harry. I m-messed up terribly. B-But please, call me Padfoot, or Sirius.” His face brightened up and a weak spark of mischief lit up his dark eyes, “Mr. Black was my father.” Harry smiled and nodded, Sirius letting go of his hand reluctantly. Mr. Dumbledore barely restrained himself from reaching out as well.

            “Are you really going to allow Harry to walk outside alone with only a flower for protection?” Mum didn’t even have to say anything. Flowey beat her to it.

            “I’m more than adequate to protect Harry, you _idiot_! It’s not like the smiley-trash-bag’s house is far away, either!” Flowey snarled, his stem thickening and petals curling in fury as white pellets began to form. Harry quickly moved away, putting on his shoes and wasting to time leaving the house.

            “Bye mum, Mr. Riven, Sirius, and Mr. Dumbledore!” he called out before closing the door, Flowey panting with rage and cursing under his breath.

            “Freaking twinkly-eyes… a ‘ _flower_ ’. Like I’m just a plain ole _daisy_! I’d like to throttle him with my bare roots!” Flowey vented. Harry let him, well aware that the flower had more bark than bite, but his fangs were plenty sharp. At least some of his anger would be released this way, rather than bottled up for the next time they inevitably meet Mr. Dumbledore again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah man, sorry it took so long for me to post again! I sort of burned myself out in the process of Determined Magics. But now i'm feeling /much/ better about writing this fic. No guarantee that I will just plow through, updating daily, or even weekly, but I've been cycling through my stories. Updating each one a chapter at a time. The hardest part about this chapter was deciding how the school would work. I'm still not firm on it, so details may be vague, but at least i'm updating! And man, Dumbledore was pushy, huh? Didn't quite mean for that, but oh well. And the British wizarding world has mostly ignored international events, not to mention Dumbledore was a bit preoccupied, which was why he didn't know about the monsters being freed.
> 
> But yeah, this hasn't been dropped or anything, I was just really burnt out for quite some time.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and feel free to comment, request, or recommend!


	5. Making Plans and Group Hugs

            Harry kept a firm grip on Flowey’s pot as he walked up the porch steps of the perpetually Christmas decorated house that even had snow on the roof. Harry wasn’t sure _how_ , but the answer was likely to be _magic_. He could already hear Papyrus through the door, though he hoped he wouldn’t have to knock too loud to get someone’s attention.

            “—YOU MEAN GLITTER IS _NOT_ HUMAN-FRIENDLY?” Papyrus exclaimed as Harry knocked politely on the door. He heard some shuffling and the door opened, revealing Sans lazily keeping an eye on his brother until he noticed who was at the door.

            “Oh, heya kid. Do they need to go home already? Paps was having a _blast_.” Sans said, wincing as something crashed in the kitchen.

            “No. Mr. Riven came over with my godfather, who was wrongfully imprisoned, and Mr. Dumbledore, who really wants me to go to his school. Mum thought I should stay over here for a while.” Harry supplied honestly. Flowey growled and practically snarled.

            “Twinkly-eyed old man called me ‘just a flower’! I don’t like him!” Flowey muttered. Harry smiled a little and snorted.

            “You barely like anyone, Flowey.” Harry replied, Sans looking torn, likely between saying a pun or pressing for more details.

            “Well, I _especially_ don’t like _him_!” Flowey snarled.

            “Well, come in, kid. Frisk was just telling Papyrus about how humans are _allergic_ to glitter.” Sans said, opening up the door and stepping to the side to let Harry through.

            “Oh…” Harry wasn’t sure what to say to that. From the living room, Harry could see into the kitchen quite clearly. Asriel, Chara, Frisk, and Papyrus were wearing identical aprons and chef hats, spaghetti sauce liberally sprinkled over their clothes and faces as Mr. Gaster watched from a safe distance away. Mr. Gaster looked both wistful and incredibly intrigued at the process, not that Harry could blame him. Currently, Frisk was very Determined to convince Papyrus that the various ‘special ingredients’ were not healthy for consumption.

            “Okay, the glitter _does_ make the spaghetti look fabulous, I’ll give you that, Papyrus.” Frisk amended, “But the end result _won’t_ be so fantastic. And no, the metal shavings are not a good replacement. You—Harry! I thought you wanted to stay at home for the evening?” Harry felt his cheeks flush.

            “Apparently, Tori’s got guests over and things were getting a little _heated_.” Sans said with a grin, Chara’s expression turning to shock.

            “The bread sticks!” Chara exclaimed, bolting for the oven to take out the very well done bread sticks. They didn’t smell bad, but they were just a _little_ too close to burnt for comfort.

            “OH, IS IT MR. RIVEN?” Papyrus asked.

            “Yeah… as well as Mr. Dumbledore and Sirius.” Their faces scrunched up in confusion.

            “Who is ‘Sirius’?” Before Harry could answer Asriel’s question, Sans beat him to it.

            “Kid’s godfather. He got into some _serious_ trouble.” Sans said, causing Papyrus to shriek indignantly.

            “NYEH! _SANS_! STOP. SAYING. SUCH AWFUL. PUNS!” Papyrus screeched angrily, throwing pasta sauce everywhere as he stomped his feet. Gaster look quite amused, but not nearly as amused as Sans was. He heard Flowey groan and mutter something about trash bags but honestly, Harry just enjoyed how happy he was among friends so close, they were practically family.

\--Dumbledore!—

            Albus Dumbledore could, at that moment, _really_ use some fire whiskey. For _years_ he had been unmatched in political games of intrigue, but one misstep and suddenly, he tripped for miles! While his original plans for Harry involved the Boy-Who-Lived not knowing of magic, due to him inevitably finding out about his fame and likely growing a large ego, he could admit that he made several mistakes. And if the trend continued, it looked as though he would be indulging in more than a humble slice of crow pie.

            It was clear that, barring an incredible miracle, none of his plans would go through the way he intended. The Dursley family was out, as was Sirius, completely out at that, but there were _worse_ places for Harry to grow up. While he wasn’t _thrilled_ at having Harry outside of Britain, there was very little possibility of him growing up to be dark. Gray, perhaps, but certainly not dark. Especially not by Britain’s stringent standards. He would also very likely survive any errant assassination attempts with his current family.

            A somewhat smaller part of him was intrigued at this ‘Monster’ species. A species entirely sentient and with their own magic, while not a rarity, was unlike any he had ever seen before. There seemed to be no hard and fast rules as to their appearance or personality, not like the Centaurs or House Elves. And they were also acting as the bird in the coal mine for the magical community, which Dumbledore appreciated greatly now that he was aware of the arrangement. Britain may deny it to its dying breaths, but they won’t be able to stay hidden forever. And, as it stands, he did not like the odds of the magical denizens of Britain surviving a sudden reveal.

            He had tried, albeit weakly, to introduce more modern ideals to the Pure-Blood dominated community, but was met with fierce opposition. Perhaps with recent events, he could help Britain walk into the light of the modern day world? He doubted it, in fact, he firmly believed that his home community would be dragged, kicking and screaming, into anything remotely resembling a non-Pure-Blood friendly world. They had enjoyed the benefits of Aristocracy for far too long to just give up cold turkey. Maybe if he warned the Minister of Mrs. Dreemurr’s reservations to Hogwarts, it would be the fire under Britain’s seat to catch up to the times? Dumbledore frowned. He’d have to be careful. He could see Fudge shoving laws through to force Harry’s attendance and separation from his new family without realizing it would cost Britain Harry Potter for good. Mr. Riven did _not_ make idle threats.

            There was also the matter of Voldemort. Of the dark magic he dabbled in to expand his lifespan. Dumbledore desperately hoped that Harry was not the vessel of Voldemort’s fractured Soul. Briefly, he considered what would happen if he told Mrs. Dreemurr of his suspicions. Would she bar Harry from Britain forever or listen? He’d need to keep an eye on the situation to decide for sure.

\--While we’re on the topic.—

            Dr. Alphys frowned at the complex readings she was getting from the machine. She had a lot of projects at the moment, but oh! She wouldn’t trade it for anything! The freedom, added challenge to her daily life, and her budding relationship with Undyne was beyond her wildest dreams! It was just… she had never needed to build something to _track Soul Splinters_ before. It wasn’t difficult to create a device to recognize a Soul, quite easy really, but she didn’t think it would be economic to just scan everything they come across, hoping to luck out.

            It didn’t help that the Soul Splinter was _so unpleasant_ to be around. She felt dirty beyond belief every time she worked near it. In fact, she placed it in a security vault the minute she ran all the tests she needed, just so she wouldn’t have to be so close to it anymore. What a nasty piece of work Tom Riddle must have been, for just _part_ of his Soul to gross her out so much!

            She fiddled with her phone, idly scrolling through Mew Mew Kissy Cutie fan art when it hit her. She had the perfect device to track down the Splinters in her hand! In the underground, they didn’t have towers to send signals, rather they depended on magic for the interaction between devices to work! If she could just work on shielding the technology from human magic, or even turn it into power, then she could just make an app for all devices! Maybe even hook it up to a radar to narrow the field? She doubted any of the Splinters would be beyond Britain’s borders, so she shouldn’t need to use satellites.

            Now, all she needed to do was work with the AMC team of scientists to create some type of shielding against human magic, and they could hunt down those nasty Soul Splinters once and for all! Man! That sounds just like something that would happen in an anime! Yet another dream come true for Dr. Alphys!

\--There’s an app for that now applies to horcrux hunting.—

            A few hours later, Harry’s mum came over to retrieve them, Mr. Riven, Mr. Dumbledore, and Sirius were already gone by then. If anything important was talked about after Harry had left, his mum never mentioned it, and Harry was honestly fine with that. Chances are it was boring adult talk, and Harry intended to avoid that for as long as he could. Though, he couldn’t avoid _all_ serious talks.

            Mrs. Claire had started to ask about how he grew up, figuring that a solid week of getting to know him was enough to get the ball rolling. He resisted at first, not liking the unpleasant memories, but when he finally started talking, it was like he couldn’t stop. Over the course of an hour, and likely over it, he told Mrs. Claire just about everything before he was dumped at Mt. Ebbot. A few flower vases broke at the height of his emotional turmoil and, before he could control himself, he curled into a ball. His mind instantly back in Britain with a phantom of Uncle Vernon looming over him for freakish behavior.

            “—Alright, Harry…. Nothing wrong… just… deep breaths…” Mrs. Claire’s soft voice drifted in and out, slowly becoming clearer until he could actually feel her hand running down his back in soothing motions. He didn’t even realize he had been sobbing desperate apologies.

            “—I’msorry!Sosorry,pleasedon’thurtme… I’m… s-sorry…” Harry said, finally breathing as his head cleared. A rather large part of him was surprised at how gently Mrs. Claire smiled at him, having apparently couched down to his eye level during his breakdown.

            “There you are, Harry.” Mrs. Claire whispered, “It’s alright. It’s just accidental magic, an easy fix, in fact. My eldest summoned at least a dozen stray dogs when she was six, a few broken vases are practically nothing compared to that.” She said, slowly drawing her wand and pointing it towards the shattered remains of the vases, “Reparo. Scourgify.” She said as Harry watched in mild amazement as the vases repaired itself and the mess disappeared into thin air. He knew Mrs. Claire was a witch since the beginning, but seeing her perform magic was rather new. Harry accepted Mrs. Claire’s offer of a tissue box and began cleaning his face up a bit.

            “A-At least I didn’t end up on the roof this time…” Harry weakly replied. Mrs. Claire chuckled.

            “There is that, isn’t there? But that’s pretty powerful magic, Harry. Can’t say I’m surprised, though. The strongest wizards hardly lived peaceful lives before they got their proper training.” Mrs. Claire said, “We won’t talk about the Dursleys anymore today, or even the rest of this week. If you want, I can have your mom come and pick you up after I show you how to meditate. It’s the first step to a particularly useful branch of magic called Occlumency, as well as Legimency. It will help you control your emotions and deal with your trauma. I’ll also recommend a few other coping mechanisms, but I think you will find meditation the most useful for later in life.” She said but Harry shook his head.

            “I-I don’t want to bother, mum. I-I can just go back to class after this.” Mrs. Claire shook her head.

            “No, Harry. You’re pretty wiped out as it is. As your counselor, it would be irresponsible of me to send you to class. Especially with how irritated your magic is right now. You need the support of your family after such difficult emotional turmoil.” Mrs. Claire said just as there was a knock on the door, “I’m busy at the moment, please come again later.” But the door opened anyway and Chara poked their head in, along with Asriel and Frisk.

            “I felt like something was wrong, Harry. Are you okay?” Chara asked with worried ruby eyes. Harry felt his throat constrict and thicken with emotion. He… didn’t think he’d ever get used to having a _family that cared_. His eyes watered up and that was all they needed to clamber in, closing the door behind them before embracing him. He wasn’t sure if he was hugging Chara or if it was Asriel that he buried his head against, or even if it was Frisk gently brushing his hair, but he wasn’t sure if really mattered at that point. The damn broke again as Mrs. Claire quietly let herself out the door to give them privacy. Thin vines wrapped around his ankle and his Soul warmed with the knowledge that he wasn’t alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did Flowey get there? I don't know. Good question. Didn't mean to write quite so much, but I doubt you guys will complain. I don't really have much more to say. Chances are, i'm going to glance over most of their schooling (not Harry's magic schooling), and mostly focus on recovery and maybe other points of interest. Think that's about all I wanted to say so~
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, feel free to comment, request, or recommend!


	6. Happy Birthday!

            It was a little strange that the past couple months of school was solely to teach the monsters about living aboveground. Little things like how to read traffic lights and what number to call on the telephone in an emergency to big things like weather patterns in different seasons. To be honest, Harry thought it was a good idea to teach monsters this now, rather than risking panic later. The only reason adults didn’t go is because they were getting different lessons through the AMC about ‘adult’ things, such as taxes and probably how to identify aggressive humans, as well as dispelling myths that may have cropped up about humans while they were trapped underground. Like the one Undyne had about humans wielding giant swords and high school girls often wearing sailor uniforms and summoning demons to fall in love. Undyne had read some _weird_ stuff.

            But now it was the end of July and the informal school for monsters was drawing to a close. The school would be closed for two weeks, providing monsters with a small summer break before the official school year began. It was a little disappointing, but Harry didn’t mind. The main reason him and Frisk attended was to get used to the modern American way of doing things and to show support.

            He wasn’t worried about school though. In fact, something _else_ had him worried. All day long his strange family had been acting… rather weird. Frisk, Chara, and Asriel… his… sibling, has been grinning all day and encouraging him to play with them in whatever game they could think of. Flowey was his usual sour self, but he occasionally broke character and just… smiled softly, like he was really happy. Mum had even been baking all day, but she wouldn’t allow him to go into the kitchen. He could never press the issue because one of his siblings would notice and instantly begin distracting him again.

            Finally, just after two, Sans, Papyrus, and Gaster came over. Whatever was going on, they seemed to know about it.

            “Toriel! We are here to help with the bi—THING! Completely innocent thing!” Papyrus exclaimed nervously so loud that Harry could hear it from the backyard. But he couldn’t investigate _again_ , because Frisk absolutely insisted on playing ‘patty cake’ with him for the third time in a row. A few minutes later, mum poked her head out of the back door.

            “Come along, my children. We’re headed out!” She said before laughing, “Well, _after_ you four get cleaned up.” She held open the door to let them bustle through. Any evidence that mum had been baking was removed from the kitchen from what Harry could tell at a quick glance.

            Quite curious by now, Harry quickly washed his face and changed into a dark brown and honey stripped shirt with dark jeans and trainers. Dashing out of his room, he saw that he was the second one ready, Frisk naturally being faster than Asriel or Chara due to the difficulty of removing dirt from their fur. Harry glanced at Sans’ easy grin.

            “Sans, what’s going on?” He asked, but Sans only shook his head and chuckled.

            “Sorry, kid. Gonna have ta wait and see, Tori would have my head if I told you.” Harry huffed and then yelped as Sans’ messed with his barely contained hair.

            “Sans!” He really needed to get it back to how Mettaton fixed it during his show. It was difficult defending his hair when, honestly, it didn’t really look any worse after vigorous ruffling. Gaster and Papyrus chuckled, briefly joining in as Asriel and Chara bounded down the stairs. Perhaps now he could finally see what all the fuss was about.

\--At Grillby’s Attic, cause what else would it be called?—

            Their ride stopped in front of a large and well-lit bar with the name ‘Grillby’s Attic’ spelled in bright red and orange neon lighting above the door.

            “Come along, or we’re going to be late!” Mum proclaimed. Sans snorted.

            “How can we be late with the bi—star of the show?” Sans asked as they got out, Papyrus and Gaster carrying a large pile of boxes. Harry narrowed his eyes at the correction, but couldn’t ask about it since the door opened and a loud—

            “Happy birthday, Harry!” echoed from inside the neat establishment. Honestly, it looked exactly like Grillby’s place in the underground, only bigger.

            “Oh, thank the angel it’s actually him.” A dizzy looking rabbit said from inside. Harry felt like the world was spinning. Across the display of alcohol was a large banner, proclaiming exactly what the monsters inside had loudly declared. It looked like a lot of monsters were here, in fact, Mr. Riven was sitting at the bar with a wrapped present as well. Gently, Toriel pushed him inside.

            “Happy birthday, my child.” She whispered. Harry felt so… _so overwhelmed_. Ever since he was old enough to understand the yearly parties thrown lavishly to celebrate Dudley being born, he knew that his relatives would never do the same for him. Instead, he’d wait until midnight and wish himself happy birthday, wishing that one day, he could have a party of his own. Not for the presents, or the cake, but for the small moment where he feels like his birth wasn’t a hinderance on others. That it wasn’t some wretched event, but something to be _cherished_ and celebrated. Never, _not ever_ , could he adequately express how _loved_ he felt at that moment.

            Swiftly, he turned around and embraced his mum.

            “Thank you, so much!” He whispered into the fabric of her dress.

            “Woah! Uh, didn’t think you’d _love_ it that much.” Sans said, patting his back as his mum’s paw paused on his head, “I guess this party is pretty _hot_. To _die_ for, in fact.” He said. Harry pulled back in confusion and looked at Sans, who just pointed above his head. Harry tilted his head and blushed furiously. Like a fountain of love, little cartoon hearts bubbled in and out of existence above his head, the exact color as his own Soul. With an embarrassed groan, he buried his face into his mum’s dress as Mr. Riven laughed somewhere behind him.

            “Haha! Ah, it’s been ages since I’ve witnessed accidental magic. Don’t worry, Sans, Mrs. Dreemurr.” Mr. Riven said, his footsteps growing closer, “It happens while a magic user is young. Usually because of extreme emotion. I think it’s safe to say that Harry loves his party.” Mr. Riven assured his mum. Harry never thought he could feel so embarrassed in his life.

            “Ah~! The little hearts are so _cute_!” Frisk cooed, gently tapping one and watching as it popped. Harry groaned and had never felt so happy as when the little hearts stopped appearing.

            “Sorry I can’t stay, Harry. I just had two presents to drop off. One is from the AMC (mostly myself) and the other is from your godfather. He isn’t allowed to leave the hospital for a few weeks yet. I personally procured the first from the goblins this morning. Happy birthday, Harry.” Mr. Riven said, handing over two presents. One wrapped in red and the other a plaid red and gold.

            “T-Thank you Mr. Riven.” Harry said, wondering what he had gotten from the goblins.

            “Well, thank you, Mr. Riven. I believe we should eat first, and then open presents. Are you certain you cannot stay?” his mum asked gently, but Mr. Riven shook his head.

            “No, I’m afraid not, Mrs. Dreemurr.” Mr. Riven said, nodding his head to Grillby and moving past them to exit the bar.

            “C’mon, Harry, let’s go sit up by Grillby!” Asriel said, almost jumping with excitement. Harry laughed a little and allowed his brother to drag him forward.

            “Hello, Grillby. You have a nice place.” Harry said conversationally. Grillby smiled and pulled a present from under the bar, sliding it neatly before Harry, “Oh. You didn’t have to, really…” When the flame elemental refused to take back the pale orange wrapped gift, Harry ducked his head and whispered a bashful thanks.

            The ‘party’ was a noisy affair. Delicious cinnamon butterscotch cake was passed around, mum had apparently been making several to accommodate the large amount of visitors who simply wished to say hello and eat cake. Harry understood that feeling. After cake Harry got to experience the wondrous feeling of being pressured to—

            “PASSIONATELY UNWRAP THAT GIFT! But do it gently, to show you care!” Undyne declared, suddenly shifting gears as Harry unwrapped the gift from his siblings. It was a camera set, a very nice looking camera with an odd logo that kind of looked like Mettaton’s brand.

            “We figured you’d like to take pictures of your new life, Harry. Well, Asriel thought of it first, and Chara said we should ask Alphys. I wrapped it up.” Frisk declared proudly. Harry laughed.

            “I love it! But… will it work with my magic?” He asked nervously. Alphys shuffled forward with her own gift.

            “Y-Yes, actually! I finished the shielding just last week! H-Here’s my gift.” Alphys presented a pink wrapped gift with purple ‘M’s all over. When Harry unwrapped it, he found that it was a nice cellphone that looked quite high-tech, “I’ll tell you about the features later, for now, you should probably unwrap Undyne’s gift before she e-explodes!” Gleefully, now that the signal had been given, Undyne shoved forward her gift. It was blue with fishes all over.

            Inside this one was a box set of a strange manga—Undyne and Alphys were quite insistent he called it that _specifically_ —he had never seen before. The cover had a strange girl with pink hair and oddly colored eggs. Odd. Papyrus was next.

            “Nyeh! Here is my gift to celebrate nine consecutive years of surviving the harsh world, Harry!” Papyrus proclaimed, handing an immaculately wrapped gift with noodle printed paper. Beneath the amazing wrapping paper was an Italian cookbook, “So that, perhaps, we can learn to broaden out horizons together!” Papyrus exclaimed. Naturally, Sans was next. Somehow, Harry wasn’t surprised that it was literally just a cardboard box with a bow stuck on top. The box wasn’t even taped shut, either. Inside was a pranking kit, complete with a whoopee cushion and a hand buzzer. Harry couldn’t hold back his snort at that.

            “What? Gotta start somewhere.” Was all Sans offered. Gaster sighed and handed a nicely wrapped present in orange and blue gift wrapping. Inside was a book that apparently contained the theory of everything.

            “It’s quite a good read, when you have the time.” Gaster offered.

            “Thanks, it sounds really smart and informative.” Harry said, taking a moment to carefully throw away the trash. Grillby’s gift was a personalized apron with the words ‘hotter than an oven’ on the front and a variety of cooking implements. At that moment, Harry vividly remembered _exactly_ who he accidentally gave his first kiss to and wished for nothing more than to disappear completely. At least Muffet just gave him treats in little spider designed tins.

            The last two presents were from Asgore and his mum. Asgore’s was a book on how to make tea mixtures and a packet of flower seeds from the underground. Including golden flowers, echo flowers, and ‘sea’ flowers. His mum presented a delicately wrapped cream colored gift gently. It was a finely made scrapbook with a white leather cover and golden embossed letters titling it ‘family’. It was empty, but he supposed that was what the camera was for. He felt warm and completely happy. He also really hoped little hearts weren’t dancing over his head again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't /quite/ do a Halloween thing just yet, so I settled for fixing an oops and doing Harry's birthday. I realized that I had set the beginning of Determined Magic in April and a few days later, they were aboveground and in school? Like, uhm, not quite? Like, school in America ends at the end of May, so I fixed it to where they weren't in 'official' school. Just an adjustment school for Monsters and shit, assuming that it took about a month for them to fix up their houses and shit, so the timeline is fixed better now! Thank fuck.
> 
>  
> 
> Anyway, happy Halloween if I don't manage a special, and feel free to comment, request, or recommend!


	7. Birthday Feels.

            Quite suddenly, he remembered the gifts that Mr. Riven left behind. He pulled out the plaid gift first. It had a small notecard titled ‘from Sirius Black with moderation from Professor McGonagall and Remus Lupin’. A bit amused, he unwrapped the gift and found a journal along with a well-kept scrapbook with moving photos. The first picture he saw brought tears to his eyes. It was a couple, happily swaying together in front of a fountain, young and without a care. The man had hair just like his own and looked rather posh with aristocratic features. The lady had fiery red hair in loose waves down her shoulders. Her eyes were almost identical to his own. This was his parents. For the first time in his life, he knew what they looked like. A gentle paw rested on his shoulder and he looked at his mum. Her eyes were bright with tears.

            “They look lovely, my child… They’d be so proud of you. If you wish, we shall find frames for you to put some pictures in…” He nodded and swallowed thickly, quickly placing the journal on top of the picture so he wouldn’t have to see it anymore. He’d like that, but not right now. The wounds were too fresh from his time with the Dursley’s.

            “Yeah… I wonder what’s in here, though.” Harry asked softly, opening the journal. In a bold and messy scrawl were the misadventures of ‘The Marauders’. Including the prank spells they used and _‘purely for your education’_ the incantations and wand movements. There was also a letter, but he’d read that later. Next, he opened the gift Mr. Riven gave him. Inside was a large and heavy looking leather book and a brown paper wrapped package with two notes attached.

            The leather book had the word ‘Potter’ embossed in golden letters on the cover with small text underneath that shimmered before his eyes briefly before settling. Harry read it softly.

            “Only through hard work shall we achieve greatness.” A family motto? He opened up the book to find long and, to be honest, dry documents about his family history. Around the back was a moving family tree with a lot of names and faces. He appreciated it, of course, but it was a little dry for him to go through right now. Instead, he turned his attention to the strange package. The first note was from Mr. Riven. His mum leaned over and read it aloud.

            “ _Dumbledore wished to give this to you under the pretense of a gift. It is, of course, yours through inheritance anyway. I figured that, considering the last time he visited, it would be best if I mediated it instead. Take good care of this, Harry. It’s quite the impressive artifact._ ” His mum hummed softly, “ _Your father had given this to me shortly before he died. As per tradition, it is to go to the eldest Potter child and to be taken good care of_ … What a presumptuous old man.” she said disdainfully. He opened the wrapping and found a silvery bundle of fabric inside. It felt like smooth silk and cool to the touch. With his mum’s help, it was draped over his shoulders. A peculiar feeling swept over him and he could have sworn he heard Sans chuckle from across the room, but everyone gasped, including the skeleton.

            “Woah, kid, I wasn’t expecting you to do a magic trick for your own party.” Sans said, his eyes searching where Harry was sitting, like he couldn’t see him. His mum gently patted the air until she came into contact with his shoulders and sighed with relief.

            “What?” Harry looked down and noticed that his whole body was invisible, “Amazing!”

            “Sweet, Harry, mind if I borrow that?”

            “Hey, can I borrow that?” Chara and Frisk asked at the same time with a mischievous glint in their eyes. His mum snorted.

            “Absolutely not. Besides, if a monster is sensitive enough, they can still sense you. Not to mention it does nothing for touch, sound, or smell.” His mum said firmly. Chara and Frisk snapped their fingers in disappointment while Asriel just shook his head, “Harry, my child, you need to be careful with this, alright?” Harry nodded before realizing she couldn’t see and removed the cloak.

            “Yes, mum.” Harry said dutifully. This had been quite the eventful birthday for Harry, all things considered.

\--Later.—

            Harry couldn’t sleep. He didn’t know why, but that picture haunted him. The one of his parents, happy and alive. Hesitantly, he climbed out of bed and went to his bookshelf where the family book and scrapbook sat side by side. He pulled out the scrapbook and leafed through the pages, taking in each and every picture accumulated inside.

            Most had one of his parents and was a magical picture that moved. Any that had his mother before eleven, including a somewhat relaxed Easter Sunday with Aunt Petunia and his mum happily holding hands together, were not magical at all. A few had his father as a child, a happy and giggling baby, as well as spoiled by the look of it. But the ones of where they were older were… somehow more painful. He recognized a few pictures of Sirius, alongside his dad and two scrappy teens with lighter coloring. A few of his mother with a sour looking dark haired teen with a hooked nose. It was only the very later years that had his mother and father together, though the sour teen no longer featured inside them. It took a moment to realize he was having trouble seeing. With his head down, his tears had splattered onto the surface of his glasses. Small tremors rattled his shoulders and he became aware of the little hiccupping sobs bubbling from his throat.

            “…Harry?” Frisk asked softly from behind him. Harry whipped around, roughly scrubbing at his cheeks. Frisk was dressed in soft purple and white striped pajamas and had a very… soft expression on their face.

            “Mm…yeah?” he replied. Frisk quietly walked over and sat down beside him, making sure to leave a small amount of space between them. They glanced down at the scrapbook and back at Harry.

            “…It’s hard, isn’t it?” They asked, “The ‘what if’ game? What if they had lived? What if I actually got to know them? _What if…_ ” Harry felt another sob rip through him, a little louder than before.

            “I-It’s n-not… not _fair_.” Harry whispered harshly. Frisk shook their head.

            “No. It’s not. These things happen, Harry. All the time, in fact. But… you know, just because you lost your parents doesn’t mean you’re all alone anymore. You have mum. You have Chara. Asriel. Flowey. Sans, Papyrus, and Gaster. You have Undyne and Alphys. Mettaton and Grillby. You even have Asgore… and you have me, too.” Frisk whispered, opening their arms so Harry could climb into their lap. Frisk gently removed his glasses and cleaned them off before setting them down and embracing him, “You have family, bound not by blood, but by love and compassion.” Harry shook his head.

            “I-I _know_ that! I-I’m so happy that I finally have a _family_ but… I don’t have the _right_ to be sad. I didn’t even _know_ them! Sirius did! My aunt Petunia did! But not me… I-I just… don’t have the right…” Harry whispered into Frisk’s collarbone. Frisk cooed gently into his hair, the locks seeming to twist up into wild curls.

            “Oh, Harry dear. Of _course_ you have the right to be sad! You never got to know them, true, but they _died_ to protect you. They wanted you to live, even if they didn’t… If it makes you feel better, mourn what _could_ have been. Mourn what you _lost_. Not just the fact that they were your parents. No one in this house will judge you.” Frisk whispered back.

            “Speak for yourself, _trash_!” Flowey said angrily from his pot, “I mean, I had to drag _myself_ all the way from the windowsill to get to Chara and Asriel to wake them up so we can engage in comfort _feeling hugs_.” He snapped as Chara and Asriel stumbled into his room and collapsed into a sleepy pile around Frisk and himself. Their arms petting whatever they could reach. Including Asriel’s accidental petting of Frisk’s face.

            “Mhm… no more sads.” Chara murmured.

            “Soft hugs for everyone…” Asriel agreed blearily.

            “…Emotional trash. Feel our family bond or I’ll tell the angry fish stick to give you emotional support! Loud and aggressive like everything else she does!” Flowey sneered as vines gently wrapped around them. Harry sputtered into a watery laugh.

            “…Let’s go to Goat-mom’s room. She’s the best at this.” Frisk said dully. It was a long and difficult process to get the sleepy monsters, and grumbling Flowey, to mum’s room. But like their first night, she easily accepted them into her bed. That night, Harry fell asleep warm and a little less broken than before. Tomorrow was another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I figured Sirius wouldn't be able to just send something crazy, like a broom, if he was under the care of Saint Mungos (and very likely Remus and McGonagall). So, he sent the next best thing. A book with /hidden/ prank spells. Oh, and i'm on the fence as to whether or not monster should have the ability to understand (at the very least at an accelerated rate) all spoken languages (and a knack for getting nonverbal languages down) due to their history and if Harry should have it too. Like, not just Parseltongue. Which he definitely still has. But he should be able to do a few choice monster magic bits anyway, so I guess we'll see.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and feel free to comment, request, or recommend.


	8. Time Skip Chronicles: First Day of School and Semi-Good Intentions

            Somehow, despite not _technically_ being the first day of school, today felt different to Harry. Just like for the ‘catch-up’ school he, and almost all the other monsters went to for a few months, he dressed up in nice clothes and packed his bag. Chara, Asriel, and Frisk were also ready. Funnily enough, due to the heavy monster population of the school, the dress code for all years (another change from his old school in Britain) required stripes. Even if they’re technically of age, as long as you went to school, you had to wear a striped shirt of some kind.

            “I’ve packed your lunches, my children. And yes, Chara, I made sure to leave a chocolate bar in yours. I shall be teaching Beginner’s Magic and Basic Monster history to the younger years, so I doubt I shall see any of you until lunch and after school. If you need anything, either go to your teacher or find Sans. He’s working as a janitor in the school and will likely have plenty of breaks.” his mum fretted. Harry went back to the hairstyle Mettaton had showed him, it was almost strange how tame his hair was if he truly enjoyed the style. The scar was almost entirely gone as well, a slight sheen of pink and scarred skin to show there was a wound at all.

            “Okay, mum.” Harry said, trying to ease his mother’s worries. It helped a little bit, but for the entire drive she still glanced over them, trying to spot some crucial item missing and failing.

            Classes were much the same, if a little more organized than before. They had a new math teacher, freshly certified to deal with the peculiarities of monster children on top of humans. She was a… strangely anxious woman. Tall and thin with dirty blond hair in a braid down her back. Dark brown eyes constantly moved across the classroom, pausing on Harry more often than not. It wasn’t the same kind of stare as his mum, a visual desire to ensure he was in good health. Nor was it like Flowey, intense and almost like denial of caring, despite very real emotions behind the gesture. No, it was almost like she was expecting him to do something. Either something grand or overly emotional.

            “Mr. Potter, if you would stay behind for a few minutes.” Harry shook his head at the silent question MK asked, whether the armless monster should stay behind with him or not. He was pretty sure he could handle Mrs. Travers.

            “Yes, Mrs. Travers?” he asked, holding his backpack in one hand and resisting the urge to fidget. His next class wasn’t far, but he didn’t want to be late for history either. Mrs. Travers bent down, balancing on kitten heels easily and looked him in the eyes.

            “Mr. Potter, you’re a very special little boy, you know that right?” confused and feeling a little uneasy he nodded, “You’ve done great things and you deserve so much for that.”

            “Ma’am, Frisk and I didn’t break the barrier for the reward. We did it because our family deserved the freedom more than anything.” He said, keeping in mind the cover story. He could hardly say he had Death/Sans help him to bring back two dead children and break the barrier. She laughed and shook her head.

            “No, I mean when you were little. I grew up in Britain, did you know that? It was a very scary time back then… and then you saved us all.” Mrs. Travers shook her head, “I would be more than willing to take you in. To give you the family you deserve. A good wizarding family with toys and magic, wouldn’t you like that?” Harry was shocked by the… the _rudeness_ of her statement. Did she think that he would be _bought_ by toys and shiny things? That it was _at all appropriate_ to say such things.

            “ _Mrs. Travers_ , I— _how dare you ask me that_?!” He felt mildly hysterical but reigned his magic in before it could cause any damage, “For the first time in my life, I finally have a place to call _home_! And a family that _loves me_ , not because my parents gave their lives for mine, but because I’m _just Harry_. I don’t need ‘a good wizarding family’! You are my math teacher, Mrs. Travers. And that is all you _will_ be. Have a good day.” Harry stormed out of the classroom and was quickly stopped by Chara’s warm embrace just down the hall.

            “Hey, Harry… you feeling alright?” Harry huffed and returned the embrace.

            “How do you always _know_?!” He muttered into Chara’s shoulder.

            “I just get this weird tugging sensation that tells me that I’m needed.” Harry laughed and shook his head.

            “No… I’m fine. Just… clearing up a misunderstanding.” Harry said, not wanting Mrs. Travers to get into trouble. It wasn’t really _appropriate_ behavior but he understood that there was a fair bit of hero worship in Britain. As long as this was the end of it, Harry wouldn’t say another word on the matter. Chara seemed to consider pursuing the matter before dismissing it.

            “Alright. See you at lunch?” Harry nodded his head and scurried into his history class.

\--Nosy teachers.—

            Toriel’s first week of school was largely uneventful. There was a bit of awe from some of the students when they realized she had previously been Queen, but besides that they were just _darling_. It warmed her Soul to be working as a teacher—aboveground!—and teaching the next generation of children. The school, while largely catering to monster children, did have a fair number of humans. Both as staff and students, her dear children, Frisk and Harry, included. Though… she did have a strange feeling about Mrs. Travers. She _watched_ Toriel as though expecting delinquent behavior, which baffled her to no end. Did she _come across_ as some wild lady?

            Any time they were in the same room Mrs. Travers kept her distance. She mingled just fine with the other staff members, monster and human alike, so it wasn’t Toriel’s _race_ she had issues with, oddly enough. Finally, it all came to a head in the second month of school. She had just finished her last class of the day—covering the early days of being sealed in the magic barrier—and retired to the staff lounge as usual. And there Mrs. Travers was, anxiously waiting with a grim expression.

            “Mrs. Dreemurr, I need to speak with you.” Mrs. Travers stated harshly. With a practiced ease, Toriel nodded and began to make tea.

            “Of course, Mrs. Travers. Would you like a cup of tea?” she asked, “Though I’m afraid I don’t know what you could need from me. You’ve been quite good at avoiding me, in fact.” She finished, setting down a cup of tea and taking a seat once Mrs. Travers shook her head. Mrs. Travers’ expression was thunderous, but Toriel was not easily _cowed_.

            “It’s about Harry—that is to say, Mr. Potter.” Mrs. Travers bit out, reluctantly taking a seat as Toriel sipped her tea. The cup was quite large, to account for the size of her paws, and clinked delicately on the surface of the table.

            “What about him, Mrs. Travers? Is he falling behind in… you teach math, correct? Well, are his efforts lackluster? I understand that some young boys are not… _enthused_ about the subject, but I can speak to him if you wish.” Toriel replied. But she knew it wasn’t about his performance. The worksheets he came back with were always accompanied with a good grade.

            “I’m afraid not, Mrs. Dreemurr.” Mrs. Travers sighed, “I-I just… I don’t think that your household is… _good_ for him. After that—that _debacle_ with those muggles, he should have gone to a _good home_. With his _own_ kind--!” she spat before realizing her mistake. Toriel leaned back, taking a slow sip of tea while watching the panic spread over Mrs. Travers’ face, before replying.

            “And precisely _what_ do you mean by that, Mrs. Travers?” inwardly, she sighed. There was something familiar about the term Mrs. Travers’ had used, but Toriel just couldn’t remember.

            “I-I don’t mean b-because you’re a monster, Mrs. Dreemurr! I-I just meant—“

            “Ah. Now I remember. Muggle is a term used by British magic users, correct? For those without magic? Well, if you fret over Harry’s guardians lacking magic, allow me to quell your fears. Every monster is _made_ of magic. Every fiber of our being, every breath we take, and step we make is _rife_ with _magic_. There is a class of monster with strength _above_ the average monster, called a Boss Monster. I am such a monster. So, by your standards, I must be _quite_ qualified, correct?” Toriel said in a frosty tone. She had long since passed the age where her magic acted without her _explicit_ consent, but the temptation to _scare_ Mrs. Travers was rising…

            “N-No, I don’t mean like that!” Mrs. Travers screeched, “He belongs with _wizards_ , Mrs. Dreemurr! _Humans with magic_ , not—not— _creatures!_ ” And all at once, Mrs. Travers’ paled. There was a _very_ strict rule against discrimination and, with Mrs. Travers _obviously_ being at least related to a magic user, it’s very likely that, if Toriel pursued the matter, there would be no room for Mrs. Travers to lie. Not with truth serums and ways to view memories.

            “ ** _Mrs. Travers_** , contrary to what British magic users like to believe, you do not have _any right_ to Harry, in any way, just because of the unpleasant incident when he was **_a baby_**. You do not have a right to his person, his presence, nor his life in any way. If he does not wish it, I will happily enroll him into the American equivalent to _Hogwarts_ and be done with it.” Toriel said, enjoying how horrified Mrs. Travers looked.

            “B-But it’s his _heritage_!”

            “There are more ways than one to learn about _that_ , Mrs. Travers. Like the family book. But as I said, in the end, it is _his_ choice.” Toriel sighed, “On a professional note, this behavior is _very_ inappropriate, Mrs. Travers. While I can understand _concern_ for a child’s welfare, this is not about how _Harry_ is being treated, but how you _believe_ he should be raised and with _whom_. And neither of those are any of your business. If I hear you speak of _any_ of my children within any context but _education_ , I will report you… now, if you will excuse me, I need to grade worksheets. Have a good day, Mrs. Travers.” Toriel politely called out, putting away her cup and walking back to the classroom. She would need to keep an eye on Mrs. Travers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, long time to see! Hehe..heh... anyway, i'm starting up a "time skips" bit. Mostly because I want to get this show on the road. My usual pace is day-by-day-and-occasionally-skip-a-few, but that would probably drive me nuts here. I'm getting... I don't know, plot-cabin fever. I wanna do something /new/! But i'm trying not to just drop what I've got, so any help(requests) would be appreciated. If my math is right, the time frame should be in... October now? So Halloween is coming up. That'll be fun.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter. Feel free to comment, request, or recommend. CX


	9. Came in to Have a Good Time, Now I'm Crying

            Halloween promised to be… _interesting_. For one, it would be the first Halloween Monsters have ever celebrated aboveground. The second reason was that this is the first time Harry would be able to participate, though in light of his parent’s death, he wasn’t sure if he should…

            “I’m sure your parents would not have minded celebrating this holiday… it is also known as Samhain, the one night of the year where the dead may traverse the earth. At least, that’s what I understand from particular cultures. If you wish, we may leave a small memorial offering and keep the candle burning through the night.” His mum offered. Something inside his chest eased at the solution. He’d still get to celebrate the admittedly commercialized holiday with his friends and family while also respecting his dead one.

            “That sounds… nice.” Harry admitted quietly. Now all he had to do was choose an appropriate costume. Somehow, that seemed like a much harder decision than setting aside candy and a burning candle.

\--Howzabout we get _Sirius_?—

            Mind healers (though they insisted on the term therapists and psychologists) in Switzerland could do wonders, really! He felt better already despite it only being a few months since he was admitted to the ‘mental health retreat’. Dumbledore tried to persuade him to go to a mind healer in good old Britain, but Sirius doubted the locals could shake his terrible reputation after about a decade of hearing how horrifically murderous he was. That’s not to say he was back to normal again… he didn’t think he’d ever be ‘normal’ again. Distantly, he could hear the snide comment from Moony that he never _was_ normal to begin with, and he wouldn’t be wrong…

            But it would be some time yet before he’d really be ‘okay’ again. His personal mind healer, a Mr. Bellemont, said that some time off would do him good. He recommended visiting his godson. Check in with Harry and reassure himself that his little Prongslet was still okay. And the in the greatest of all timings, it was going to be Halloween soon. He had just called ahead (an awkward five minutes of trying to piece together distant memories as to how the damn telephone worked) to make sure he didn’t give them a horrible surprise. That would hardly be a good way to reassure little Prongslet’s ‘mum’ (it took a month of talking it out with his mind healer to take away the sting of knowing he wasn’t referring to Lily) that he was mentally ‘all there’.

            So, he found himself, once again, in front of a nice little house in a peaceful, but hardly _boring_ , neighborhood. Shaking slightly with a feeling of numbness in his bones (a side effect from constant exposure to dementors that would take a lot more work to get rid of he was told), he knocked on the door. What couldn’t have been less than a minute later, the door opened up to reveal Toriel in all her… fluffy glory. There was a sort of… ‘motherly’ air about her that eased Sirius a lot. He didn’t have the greatest mum, quite horrible actually, so it was odd to find himself thinking positively about a ‘mum’.

            “Oh! Sirius, you’re here! The children are just getting dressed in their costumes! Come inside and I’ll fix you a glass of… hmm, would you prefer water or lemonade?” Toriel asked softly. Sirius smiled and stepped inside.

            “Lemonade, please. If it’s not too much trouble.” Sirius said, “What are they going as?” She giggled into her paw and shook her head as she left the room.

            “Oh, but I can’t spoil the surprise!” he heard giggling upstairs before loud footsteps echoed through the house as at least one child made it downstairs.

            “Why do _I_ have to be the princess?! I’m a prince!” a young boy cried out. Sirius couldn’t recall having heard this voice before.

            “Because _I’m_ the king!” a… child’s voice replied smartly, though Sirius couldn’t say for certain what gender the kid was. And then they came into view. Two nearly identical ‘kids’ glared at one another. The fluffier one in an old fashioned king’s robes, complete with a fake beard the same pearly white as their fur, and the other in a pretty pink gown. Behind them was a very pleased older child in a knight’s armor and a soft green dragon holding a flower pot filled with what was probably chocolate coins. Sirius knew the dragon was Harry because the upper part of the head was lifted up to reveal the giggling child with very stylishly fashioned hair and smart glasses. Harry looked over and noticed him.

            “Sirius! Look, I’m a dragon, and Flowey is my hoard of gold!” he couldn’t help but laugh as Toriel came back in and gave him a glass of yellow lemonade. He took a sip to hide his smile.

            “I see that, prongslet, but what is everyone else? Or rather, who are they, I guess I should ask.” Sirius said.

            “Oh! The knight is Frisk, they’re not a boy _or_ a girl! And this is Chara, the king, though they’re just like Frisk, and the princess is Asriel, though he’s actually a prince! We’re a fairy tale!” Harry said in a rush. Well, this was a bit of a new thing for Sirius.  He’d heard a _little_ bit about it in the muggle world. Usually it didn’t happen since there was a number of ways around it with magic and potions alone, but he guessed it was like his cousin, Tonks. She was always a girl, even if she had the body of a man (which she hated doing but better a little out of alignment than a lot dead in undercover work). He could roll with that.

            “Well, that’s an excellent choice of costume work there! What a clever little prongslet you are!” Sirius declared heartily. He was rewarded with a starry-eyed smile. It was a lot of pain to get here. So much loss. Lost friends. Lost time. But that bright smile… it made it all feel just a little bit worth it. There was a knock on the door and Toriel shuffled over and opened it.

            “Heya, Tori. Trick-or-treat.” A low baritone voice said casually.

            “Sans! That’s for baby bones! _You_ are just supposed to be an escort!” A much reedier voice screeched as the two—no, _three_ —new additions came in. They were skeletons. The shorter one, dressed in a black T-shirt with the words _‘Pur-fection’_ with bizarrely fluffy mane around his neck and tan khaki shorts with house shoes, spoke first.

            “Then why are you wearing a costume, Papyrus?” he asked of the second tallest skeleton who was dressed like a scarecrow. The last was dressed as a tin man? …Wait a minute. Are they really…?

            “Children, we’re all wearing costumes.” The last skeleton said with a smooth voice. He noticed the confused look on Sirius’ face and smirked, “Wizard of Oz.”

            “Oh! Well, now I just feel under dressed.” Sirius muttered. He didn’t really think much on the topic of potential costume ideas.

            “Nah, you can be the wizard.” Sans offered.

            “What, no one else want to be a con-artist carnie?” Sirius asked.

            “Nah. King Fluffy-buns would only be the wizard if Tori was Glenda. But she thought that was a little too on the nose.” Sans offered.

            “Huh.”

            He never expected that an aggressive fish would be Dorothy and a much smaller yellow dinosaur would be Toto. Though, to be fair, the biggest surprise would be how the Wicked Witch was a dramatic robot. Highlight of the night.

            “Well, darling, are we ready to go?” the effeminate robot man asked after cooing over each of the kid’s costumes.

            “Yeah!” It was a veritable parade around the neighborhood with monsters of every variety imaginable and several Sirius didn’t expect. He tried not to stare, but really, how was the green slime monster still in one piece and without any sort of trail? It felt like hours before they headed back, each of the kids being carried by someone. Somehow, Sirius ended up with Harry in his arms. Briefly, he wondered if this moment would have happened if Lily and James were still alive… But wishful thinking wasn’t very helpful. He just wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as it lasted, which turned out to be all the way to Harry’s room as he tucked him in after removing the hard metal armor. He almost burst into tears at the sight of a lit candle in front of a magical photo of Lily and James with a small bowl of candy. With a shuddering breath, he tucked the basket of candy away for tomorrow and made his way into the kitchen where the adults were. Which consisted of Gaster, the tall skeleton who dressed as the Tin Man, Toriel, and Papyrus. Sans didn’t count because he was asleep at the table.

            “Thanks for letting me hang around tonight, Toriel.” Sirius said. Toriel patted his shoulder.

            “No one should be alone tonight.” She said softly. Somehow, he didn’t think Toriel was talking about people in general.

            “Y-You’re doing such a good job… I-I wish you weren’t. I wish they were here but… You’re bloody better than I would have been, had everything else gone right.” Sirius whispered hoarsely. He felt another hand pat his shoulder and looked over. It was Papyrus with a gentle smile.

            “You’re a good godfather, Sirius Black. You are healing and everything will be fine.” Papyrus said.

            “He is right, child. No one is perfect. I’m sure Harry would prefer his parents were alive as well, but it does my heart good to know you approve of me acting in Lily’s stead.” Toriel comforted him as he choked back tears.

            “Just don’t leave because you think it’s for the best. Give Harry the choice or all you’ll feel is regret.” Gaster finally said as he rested his hand on Sans’ skull, “You are family, Mr. Black. Though I imagine Alphys and I would not oppose getting the chance to look into the damage to your Soul, there are no strings attached to being in Harry’s life beyond getting better.” Sirius finally burst into tears, unable to take it any longer. That was the end of the conversation as Papyrus and Toriel hugged him.

            “T-Thank you… so much…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Opps. Meant to be cute and fluffy but brought feels instead. Took way too long to decide on costumes, hope it didn't disappoint. Maybe sometime in the future the teacher lady will meet Sirius. That'll be interesting. Oh, and it's spring break now, so I have a lot more free time. I just keep forgetting to work on it, heh. My bad.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys are having a great time. Feel free to leave a comment, request, or recommendation. Still quite a ways to go and i'm not sure what I should do next XP


	10. Gryftmas Cheer All Around! And Remus Comes to Town!

            Christmas was a weird holiday. Older families celebrated yuletide. Offering gifts to pass the colder months and leaving something out for whatever old god they worshipped most. He tried very hard to forget his own families’ traditions before he was taken in by the Potters. Monsters had Gryftmas. A holiday made to… apologize to a monster for pranks? He didn’t really get it. But it was nearly identical to the modern day Christmas, so there really wasn’t much issue there. Harry’s school was doing a big dinner for the occasion, not on the big day of course. Toriel was doing a family dinner, McGonagall a small party for adults at Hogwarts, and Remus wanted to get drunk. Naturally, he’d participate in all three, but he managed to force Remus to come with him to visit Harry. No pity party was worth missing out on his godson for any length of time. He grinned at how spiffy they both looked. It took a _very_ long time to convince Remus to just shut up and take the money for a new wardrobe, but it was worth it.

            “Are… Are you sure his guardians are alright with this?” Remus asked nervously, fidgeting as he looked around the school’s front yard. Sirius laughed, throwing his arm over Remus’ shoulder so he couldn’t run before steering them both towards the unmistakable form of Toriel with Gaster standing next to her.

            “Absolutely! Hey! Tori! Gaster! Meet Remus, he even shaved!” Sirius crowed as he got closer, quickly drawing plenty of attention. Remus turned red and tried to distance himself from Sirius, but he wasn’t having _any of it_. Toriel was the first to react, excusing herself from the two parents she had been conversing with and practically gliding towards them.

            “Sirius, I’m so glad you could make it!” She enveloped the both of them in a hug that Sirius honestly thought was the best he’d ever been given. And not just because Remus was hilariously out of his depth. Entirely too soon, she pulled back and greeted Remus, “Hello, child. I am Toriel.” Remus managed to recover enough to reply properly.

            “Oh, well, hello, Toriel. I’m Remus, as you might have guessed.” Remus seemed uncertain as to how he was supposed to proceed and Sirius could sympathize with that.

            “Where’s the little munchkins?” Sirius asked, looking at the ground dramatically. The only warning he got was a giggle before the surprisingly healthy weight of a child jumped onto his back.

            “Sirius! You made it!” Harry giggled into his ears. At that moment, it _really_ felt like the holidays. Reaching around, he managed to sweep Harry into his arms. He’d gained quite a bit of weight since Halloween and a small bit of height, but not enough to keep him from carrying his godson, that’s for damn sure. Remus looked absolutely floored at how happy Harry was.

            “So I did! Harry, there’s someone I want you to meet.” He turned on his heel to face Remus with a grin, “This, is Remus. We’ve been best mates since Hogwarts, along with James and Lily.” Harry looked right at Remus and he could tell the moment Lily popped up in Remus’ head. He _really_ did have his mother’s eyes.

            “Hello…” Harry whispered, suddenly seeming rather shy. Remus smiled gently and nodded his head.

            “Hello to you too, Harry. Sirius, the mangy mutt, neglected to inform me what was happening today. Would you care to fill me in?” Remus asked, teasing Sirius light-heartedly. Harry lit up and eagerly began to fill Remus in.

            “Well, for the most part, it’s a big dinner for the school! There will be arts and crafts after we eat and a raffle for prizes! We worked really hard on the decorations, you’ll get to see them in a bit!” Harry started to squirm, “I’ll go find the others so you can meet them too!” Harry declared, convincing Sirius to release him back into the fray. Sirius watched Harry scramble away with a chuckle, Remus and Toriel joining in as well.

            “I’m afraid I must go mingle with more of the parents. Feel free to do the same, you two.” Toriel apologized before disappearing into the crowd, well, as much as she _could_. Sirius grinned and started to socialize, dragging Remus along for the ride. With any luck, he’ll find someone to catch the wolf’s eye. Drag the raggedy wolf out of self-pity. It didn’t take long to run into Harry’s math teacher, Mrs. Travers. She seemed _entirely_ too excited to meet him, considering how, not that long ago, the world was convinced he was a serial killer.

            “Harry’s such a good student, really!” Travers prattled on enthusiastically, “I’m sure that, when he lives with you, he’ll be a most accomplished wizard!” Remus jolted back into the conversation at that, not that Sirius could blame him.

            “Uhm, Sirius, how long have you been planning that?” Remus asked in confusion, that gentle ‘I-don’t-think-you’ve-thought-this-through’ look he often wore when he was a prefect on perfect display.

            “Since never. Toriel’s doing a _wonderful_ job, really. There’s no need at all to meddle.” Sirius declared, Mrs. Travers looking nervous suddenly. But before anymore could be said, Harry came around with Frisk, Chara, and Asriel. Each one wearing a Christmas-themed striped sweater.

            “Remus, this is my brother, Asriel and my siblings, Chara and Frisk!” Chara, or at least, he _assumed_ it was Chara, sniffed the air delicately and huffed.

            “You smell like a wet dog.” Remus turned pale and Sirius quickly intervened.

            “Easy there, old boy, none of that prejudice here. America is much more… liberal about that than Britain.” Sirius turned towards the confused children, “Remus here is a werewolf, you see, and they’re kind of second-class citizens in Britain.” Rather like monsters officially were in the British wizarding world. Muggle Britain had no such issues, which Sirius thought was _hilarious_. At the explanation, the children were in awe and Mrs. Travers turned pale herself, discreetly trying to put distance between herself and the ‘ravenous werewolf’. Good riddance.

            “I guess you could say he’s… your _fur_ -eind?” Sans said suddenly from his side. Sirius swore his heart stopped for a solid minute. Remus choked on laughter.

            “Sans! Stop startling the humans with your antics, you lazy bones!” Papyrus declared, bounding up to them. They were both in winter apparel, though Sans had a decidedly pun-based theme for his.

            “Aw, but Paps, I just wanted to _chill out_ with them.” Papyrus screeched, stomping his feet before collecting himself. With an exasperated sigh, he looked apologetically at Remus and Sirius.

            “I’m very sorry for my brother. He’s incorrigible! Always napping and making puns!” Remus smiled and nodded his head.

            “That’s perfectly alright. I’m sure he was just… _ribbing_ us.” Remus said with an insufferable grin. Papyrus seemed to collapse.

            “No-ho-ho! Sans! Y-You’ve corrupted another human! Why!” Papyrus cried out to his giggling brother. But before anymore could be said, Toriel returned.

            “They’re opening the doors now. We were originally supposed to wait inside, but there was an accident with a Whimsur and well… Regardless, the punch has been cleaned up and we can go in now…. Are you alright, Papyrus?” the tall skeleton sniffed.

            “Yes. I will be fine. Let’s go inside now. Perhaps there will be spaghetti?” He asked hopefully.

            “I’m sure there will be some, Papyrus. You made at least five gallons of it this morning.” Sans replied with a wink.

            In short order, they were allowed inside, something Sirius appreciated despite the warming charms he had applied liberally. It was impressively cold outside, but not a single snowflake to be seen. Yet. The school itself was rather impressive. Clean with white tile floors and children’s paintings pinned to corkboards along the walls. Everything was decked out in handmade decorations, mostly in red and green, though he spotted several other colored paper chains and snowflakes. In the gym, a very large and spacious room with a strange spongey mat on the floor, was a large amount of tables, one long row covered in food and drinks. Several large bowls of spaghetti were also present, much to Papyrus’ glee. On the stage was what looked like a raffle machine. Standing upfront was Asgore in a large Christmas sweater and a sheepish expression. Tapping the microphone, he started off the event.

            “This is wor—oh, it is. Howdy, everyone. I’m Asgore, king of monsters. I’d like to first thank all the staff and students for helping put this all together. A personal thanks to Grillby and Muffett who provided a vast majority of the food and drink. Papyrus and Undyne also made a very… hearty serving of spaghetti, for which I thank them both. This is the first Gryftmas, or as many of you know it up on the surface, Christmas, since we’ve made it out of Mount Ebott. This is also the first school founded to take in both monsters and humans, so I thought it would be best to make an appearance here. We’ve come a _very_ long way in such a short amount of time, and I can’t thank all of you enough for that.” He seemed to get misty eyed for a moment before pulling himself together, “But enough talk! Please everyone, take a seat. On each chair is a card with a number on it. That is your raffle ticket, don’t forget it! We have quite a few prizes tonight and I would hate for anyone to miss out. After we all eat there will be several different tables for arts and crafts, feel free to move around! Enjoy!”

            The food was _amazing_. Sirius _literally_ felt better when eating most of it. Though the spider-themed goods sprinkled throughout were odd, they tasted good, so he didn’t care. The wizarding world had odder tastes, so neither Remus or himself were thrown off. They managed to snag a seat across from Toriel and her gaggle of children, Asgore sitting next to Remus and making moon-eyes at Toriel every so often. Right, they had a falling out, didn’t they? Silently, Sirius wished him good luck. While Toriel wasn’t overtly hostile or cold, there was _certainly_ a fair bit of distance. Sans and Papyrus were sitting on Sirius’ left, the short skeleton mostly behaving himself, save for the occasional pun.

            The dinner was great fun and, as the evening went on, Remus actually relaxed and showed off that devious bit of ‘marauder’ that Sirius knew so well from Hogwarts. Asgore wasn’t that bad of a conversationalist, either, when the man wasn’t trying to make small talk with is estranged wife. To varying degrees of success.

            The raffles were interesting. Gift cards to ‘Grillby’s” and “Muffetts”, as well as a nice selection of holiday gift baskets. Toriel and Remus both got a nice gift basket each. He also noticed that Mrs. Travers did her level best to avoid Toriel, something that Sirius was both amused by and suspicious of.

The arts and crafts were cute. He couldn’t resist using magic (since the school had monsters with their own magic, it wasn’t illegal or anything) to enchant quite a few things to move around. Paper animals moved about cheerfully and entertained the kids. He also left with a criminal amount of paper snowflakes. It was honestly one of the best Christmas celebrations he had ever been a part of, complete with the light dusting of snow that began to fall sometime during the celebrations.

Goodbyes were difficult, as per usual, but ultimately quite cheerful. He made sure to wrangle a promise out of Remus to visit Harry again with him soon enough. Off-handedly, Sirius wondered where Flowey was. Not that he missed the angry flower, but it was rather curious… perhaps it was too cold?

While cleaning up a bit, Mrs. Travers found herself face to face with a potted plant, the bright yellow flower sporting a cheerful grin.

“Howdy, I’m Flowey! Flowey the flower!” the smile melted into a horrifying parody of a grin, “And I heard you’ve _been trying to **start shit**_.” After that, Mrs. Travers left well enough alone for _quite_ a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rhymed! How neat is that? Man, it took a while to get stuff rolling. Finals are over and I have the rest of May to relax before my summer class (watercolor) and working at my college. I've done a fair bit of writing, but this is the first thing that finished, so here we go! I also did a few drawings, as you may have noticed if you frequent my Tumblr. If any of you prefer communication that way, I don't mind at all! Every bit of communication I get is appreciated! Comments, asks. Doesn't matter to me where or how. Anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter.
> 
> Feel free to comment, request, or recommend (on AO3 or Tumblr)!
> 
> Tumblr: mamamittens


	11. Time Drabbles 1-4

\--Time Drabble 1: Pageant—

The end of the school year brought forth a pageant, a sort of celebratory ‘we successfully educated children without killing them’ party, so to speak. Mrs. Travers had been… well, not _distant_ , but certainly cautious. Something Harry rightly suspected was connected to how Flowey would occasionally pop up in the school yard, pretending to be a mascot for a children’s show or the like. She acted nothing _less_ than professional to Harry, so he couldn’t find it in himself to really care all that much.

Some monster protestors tried to gatecrash the party, but the wards held true and kept out anyone with the intent to harm the occupants and they were swiftly arrested. The AMC doesn’t mess around with their security measures. He had a blast acting in a play alongside his classmates and siblings. Frisk and him refused any large part, suspecting that they would receive preference due to their actions, and instead had fun acting much smaller roles in a fairy tale play. Harry got to be a dwarf named Sleepy and Frisk played a tree in every story they acted out. Naturally, they pulled it off wonderfully, though the poses were a bit… much, in Harry’s opinion. Mettaton greatly approved regardless, though Harry thought the confetti cannon was also… a bit much.

\--Time Drabble 2: 10 Years of Living!--

            Harry’s 10th birthday party was, in a word, _busy_. It naturally took place at Grillby’s again, just like all his sibling’s birthday parties, and it was a full house. Remus and Sirius were playing poker with the ex-guardsmen canines, an entertaining sight for sure, and seemed to be losing. Badly. Which, in and of itself, Harry found impressive considering Doggo had to wave his cards around just to see them and Greater Dog would abandon his own for the mere promise of pets. The less said about the cast away cheater, Lesser Dog, the better. He felt a bit… nostalgic. Next year, he’d get invited to Hogwarts.

            While he wasn’t _really_ sure if he wanted to go, some part of him felt like it was necessary. At the very least, he could give it a year. If it was downright miserable, he knew his mum wouldn’t mind switching schools for him. But judging from the stories Sirius and Remus told, it would be quite interesting, though he didn’t know how to feel about the sorting system. Was he brave enough for Gryffindor?  Or clever enough for Ravenclaw? He doubted he had enough ambition for Slytherin. Hufflepuff sounded… just about right, oddly enough. Loyalty and hard works sounded right up his alley, actually, but he’d just have to wait and see, he supposed.

\--Time Drabble(?) 3: Magic of Cooking—

            “My children, I thought that perhaps now would be a good time to show you how to cook the monster way. That is to say, with magic.” Mum said to Harry and his siblings. Despite Frisk lacking magic, the Determined expression they wore made it loud and clear that they would try anyway, “Because of my mastery of fire, I am able to imbed magic into the very core of what I make, therefore giving it healing properties that it would lack otherwise. Most monsters cannot do it as I can, but the most basic rule of magic, is _intent_ and _focus_. If you truly mean it, it is believed that you can do anything you put your mind to. That is why Frisk is present for this as well.” She explained.

            “Okay, how do we start?” Asriel asked anxiously as he held onto Chara’s paw.

            “The first thing you need to do, my child, is to have _fun_.” Mum said pleasantly, “As children, your magic is more instinctive than as an adult. It is, in a manner of speaking, flexible and ready to learn. Now, we shall first try to bake a pie. I have never done this with so many others, so it will be interesting to see if the different magics align properly for the intended purpose.” She mused, gesturing to the ingredients already set out.

            “What do you mean?” Harry asked curiously. Mum thought for a moment before replying.

            “Have you… ever noticed how some people get along well or not at all with others? The underlining principle is basic compatibility. It does not mean that it is impossible to get along with some people, merely that it would be incredibly difficult. Magic is intuitive and works along the same line as this principle. As monsters, we are more in tune with our Souls and magic than humans, so we usually know quite fast if we get along well with others or not.” Mum explained, “Mages, like you, are rather close to monsters. Your magic is much more prevalent than in the average human, so you will find yourself sorting through relationships much faster because of it. Back to my original topic, when magic is pooled together for a single purpose interesting things can happen depending on compatibility. If you were trained adults, you would be able to mold your magic to a purpose, but as children, you must _feel_ it instead.”

            “Oh, alright! Let’s get started!” Frisk declared boldly. Mum chuckled.

            “Very well then, I have separated the ingredients based on what their intended purpose is. I will supervise all heating sections for safety, but we will make this pie together. Follow my instructions, and even if you can’t get your magic to respond, it will turn out fine.” Mum said, pointing towards the left part of the counter, farthest from the oven, where the crust ingredients were, “Combine the ingredients together, my children, and mix them. You can do it by hand, but it would be better for Frisk or Harry to do so since I don’t have gloves in your size. Fur is certainly _not_ one of the ingredients. After that is done, we will wrap it in plastic and put it in the fridge for two hours. When _that_ is done, we will roll it out and put it in the pan to bake for about 45-50 minutes.” With careful coaching, mum showed them how to _push_ their magic into the food. It didn’t work at first, but then Harry noticed a slow _dripping_ sensation as Frisk and himself mixed the ingredients. It wasn’t on his skin, but inside it. Like some invisible force inside his veins was bleeding out. A glance at Frisk revealed they didn’t seem to notice anything off, but they certainly _looked_ more Determined than before. Just like before, baking with family was much more enjoyable.

            Like most baking projects, baking mum’s special pie took _a long time_. Several hours, actually. Over that time, Harry noticed he could actually _feel_ it when his family used magic. Mum’s felt warm and thick, like molasses, sinking into the pie. Asriel’s was soft and kind of timid while Chara’s was sort of come-and-go with sharp bursts. Interestingly enough, he felt something _kind of_ like magic coming from Frisk. It was… different in a way he couldn’t really put his finger on. Like explaining the color of steel and gray, but as different colors, to someone who can’t see at all. _This_ felt a lot like pop rocks that a kid at school brought one day. All in all, it was really neat. Maybe he’d ask his mum about it after they finished baking?

            There was a close call where Frisk started to emulate the coolest skeleton and angry fish, but Harry threatened to crack a raw egg in their hair while they sleep if they actually tried smashing the eggs right into the bowl. Eggshells and all. Chara thought it was hilarious and Asriel tried his best to quietly keep the peace before mum noticed.

            “I love this family.” Chara declared, “But Papyrus and Undyne do _not_ know how to cook.”

            “Fight me, Chara!” Frisk hissed with a wide grin.

            “C’mon, mom won’t let us bake if we start fighting!” Asriel pleaded as we waited for the dough to set.

            “Undyne tried making spaghetti _without the water_ , Frisk. Don’t try and argue with me, I know it’s true!”

            “They’re both working on it!” Frisk defended. Deciding to change the subject, he turned towards their mum and asked a question.

            “Hey mum, what does it mean if I could feel it when you guys used magic?” she stopped and looked at him.

            “Oh! Well… that’s rather unusual, my child.” She answered honestly, “I suppose it does make sense though, all things considered. You may just be sensitive to magic. We can look into it and see if we can train you a bit before your magical schooling.” She offered. Argument successfully abated, he smiled.

            “Sounds like fun.”

            They were really surprised to discover the pie healed 45 HP per slice. Apparently, the magic was very potent inside the pie, but what factored in the most, they really weren’t sure. Was it Harry’s human magic? Frisk’s Determination? Or just five people at once having fun baking?

\--Time Drabble 4: Training incident—

            “Alright, you weenie! We’re going to see if you can form solid magic! Usually, you either end up with something that can either attack, defend, or heal! I want you to focus on your magic, can you do that, punk?!” Undyne demanded exuberantly in the back yard. Harry nodded, and tried searching for that feeling. It was hard. He’d always been a bit more of a… kinetic learner, but this was something metaphysical. Like trying to grab fine sand, but without the knowledge of how to cup your hands. He clenched his fists and concentrated hard, trying to make that dripping sensation come back.

            Contrary to what Undyne would loudly proclaim to everyone in hearing range sometime later, he did _not_ mean to light himself on fire. _Nor did he scream like a banshee_. Clearly, she was so surprised at seeing fire, that she hallucinated all that. Interestingly enough, he somehow _felt_ as though this magic wasn’t quite right. Like he slipped when trying to walk. Perhaps it wasn’t his signature magic after all? Or perhaps it was the fact that he lit himself on fire that created that feeling…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're super gung-ho for making Toriel's pie, this chick on YouTube figure it out. Check out Nerdy Nummies to find her recipe, among others.
> 
> So, it's not that I've given up or lost interest... it's just that my passion for writing this specifically has dwindled. I didn't have any solid plan for the between years, so now that i'm here, I don't know what to do. I have a few vague ideas, but until he goes to Hogwarts, don't expect it to be super well structured, alright? And any requests you guys may have are very likely to come true since i'm pretty barren of ideas right now... I think I might elaborate on his 'monster magic' and introduce his poly-lingual(?) ability that I briefly mentioned at the end of a chapter some time ago. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, for whatever it's worth, and feel free to comment, request, or recommend, here or on my Tumblr, yeah?


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